Finger-supported holder for nail polish



A. JEFFERIS Dec. 13, 1938.

FINGER SUPPORTED HOLDER FOR NAIL POLISH Filed Jan 25, 1937 Patented Dec, 13, 1938 PATENT OFFICE FINGER-SUPPORTED HOLDER FOR NAIL POLISH Alice Jefleris, Washington, 13.0.

Application January 25, 1937, Serial No. 122,253

5 Claims.

This invention relates to cosmetic holders and more particularly to means whereby a bottle of cosmetic may be readily supported between the fingers of either hand when polishing and manicuring the nails so that the supply of polishing liquid will always be within convenient reach for immediate use and thus materially facilitate and expedite the application of said polishing liquid to the finger nails.

Heretofore in applying polishing liquid to the finger nails, it has been the practice to place a small bottle or vial of polishing liquid on a bureau or dressing table and apply the liquid to the finger nails by dipping a soft brush within the polishing fluid and coating the finger nails therewith. During the interval between immersion of the brush in the polishing liquid and the application of said liquid to the finger nails, it often happens that the liquid will drop from the brush and stain or otherwise damage the wearing apparel of the user and likewise spot or disfigure furniture and the like, and in certain cases the polishing liquid will tend to evaporate or par tially solidify on said brush, thus necessitating repeated immersion of the brush in the polishing fluid in order that the liquid will have the desired fluidity to permit proper spreading or coating thereof on the finger nails. Furthermore; when the bottle is supported on a dressing table and the brush isinserted within or removed from the mouth of the bottle, it frequently happens that said brush will overbalance or upset the bottle and spill the contents thereof over the highly polished surface of the dressing table,

thereby not only damaging the latter but also causing a total loss of the polishing liquid.

The primary object of the present invention, therefore, is to overcome these objectionable features and to provide a cosmetic holder of simple and inexpensive construction capable of being conveniently supported on or suspended from the fingers of either hand and which will not only facilitate the application of the polishing liquid to the nails but also prevent spilling of the contents of the bottle should the latter be accidentally upset when placed on a dressing table or other support.

A further object of the invention is-to provide a cosmetic holder comprising areceptacle having oppositely disposed supporting wings or tabs curved to conform to and adapted to fit over adjacent fingers of the hand, said wings or tabs also forming a prop or rest for the bottle to pre vent spilling of the contents thereof.

A further object is to provide a holder which may be constructed either as an integral part of the cosmetic container or made separately therefrom and subsequently applied to the container in any suitable manner.

A still further object of the invention is generally to improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and eificiency.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view showing the manner of supporting the holder between the fingers of the hand when applying polishing fluid to the finger nails,

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing how the supporting. wings or tabs by engagement with the table top serve to prevent spilling of the contents of the bottle or container, A

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on 20 the line 3-3 of Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a modified form of the invention,

Figure 5 is a similar view illustrating a further modification,

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the holder constructed. of wire, and

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a liquid container showing the finger-engaging wings or tabs molded or otherwise formed integral with the body of 30 the container.

The improved device forming the subject-matter of the present invention comprises a holder or receptacle 5 preferably substantially rectangu- V lar in shape, as shown, and molded or otherwise 35 formed of Celluloid, cardboard, Bakelite or other suitable material. The top of the receptacle 5 is normally open, as indicated at 6, and adapted to receive and support a bottle 1 containing Cutex or other finger nail polishing liquid. While it is preferred to make the receptacle 5 substantially rectangular in shape, it will, of course, be understood that said holder may be circular in cross section or of any other desired shape to correspond to the shape of the bottle or container supported thereby. Extending laterally from opposite sides of the receptacle 5 and preferably formed integral therewith are supporting wings or tabs 8 curved transversely to conform to and adapted to rest on adjacent fingers of the hand so as to support the bottle of polishing fluid between the fingers and in convenient position to a ply the contents thereof to the finger nails when manicuring the hands, as best shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. The supporting wings or tabs 8 are preferably resilient and of less width than the side walls of the receptacle 5 and are of sufficient length to flt over the upper surfaces of adjacent fingers so as to prevent accidental displacement of the bottle when applying the liquid. It will here be noted that the supporting wings or tabs 8 not only serve to suspend the bottle "I of polishing liquid between the fingers but also form rests or props for engagement with a table top so that should the bottle become over-balanced the end 9 of the adjacent supporting tab by engagement with the table top will form a rest or support for the bottle and thus prevent spilling of the-contents thereof with consequent damage to the surface of the table as well as loss of the polishing fluid. The bottom ID of the receptacle is closed, and the height of the receptacle is preferably such that, when the lower end of the bottle rests on the bottom I0 of the receptacle, the mouth H of the bottle will be entirely exposed so as to permit a brush or other applicator l2 to be readily inserted and removed from the bottle through said mouth.

In operation, a bottle containing Cutex or other polishing liquid is fitted within the holder 5, and said holder inserted between adjacent fingers, preferably the first and second fingers of either hand, with the supporting wings or tabs 8 resting on and bearing against the upper surfaces of the fingers, as best shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. The operator then inserts the brush l2 within the mouth ll of the bottle and applies the polishing fluid to the finger nails in a well-known manner. After the polishing fluid has been applied to the finger nails of one hand, the holder containing the bottle may be removed and placed on the other hand and the operation repeated. Inasmuch as the distance between the bottle I and the finger tips is relatively small, liability of the polishing liquid dropping on the clothes and staining the same is reduced to a minimum and likewise evaporation of the liquid is less likely to occur so as not to necessitate repeated insertions of the brush within the liquid to give the liquid on the brush sufiicient fluidity to permit proper spreading or coating thereof on the finger nails. In some cases, it may be desired to support the bottle on a dressing table or the like instead of between the fingers. When used in this manner, the insertion of the brush in the small mouth of the bottle often tends to over-balance the same and if this overbalancing should occur the end 9 of one or the other of the supporting wings or tabs 8 will engage the surface of the table and act as a rest so as to prevent the fluid content of the bottle from spilling and spotting or otherwise disfiguring the polished surface of said dressing table.

The holders may be used either for individual use or by attendants in mancurists parlors when manicuring the nails of customers. When used in the latter manner, the holder will be supported in position between the fingers of the mancurist and the polishing fluid applied directly to the finger nails of the customer. The upper surfaces of the supporting tabs 8 may also be used as wipers to receive surplus polishing fluid from the brush l2. That is to say, should too much liquid be deposited on the brush head, it 'may be readily reduced by wiping the brush head across the upper surface of either supporting tab.

In Figure 4 of the drawing, there is illustrated a modified form of the invention constructed from' cardboard or paper. In this form of the device, the finger-supporting wings or tabs I3 extend the entire width of the side walls M of the holder and the ends of said supporting tabs project longitudinally beyond the end walls I5 of the holder to form end tabs It, the purpose of which is to form rests at the end walls l5 and thus prevent spilling of the polishing fluid should the holder be tilted endwise on a table or other support endwise.

In Figure 5, I have illustrated a further modifled form of the invention in which the holder or receptacle I1 is preferably molded from Celluloid or of similar material and provided with side tabs I8 and end tabs l9 so that, when a bottle of polishing fluid is supported Within the holder and the latter placed on a table or other support, the tabs l8 and I9 will prevent spilling of the contents of the bottle irrespective of whether the bottle is over-balanced in either an endwise or side direction. This function is also accomplished by the formation of the tabs l3 and l 6 shown in Figure 4 of the drawing.

Figure 6 illustrates a further modification in which the holder is made of wire and constructed in the form of a cage having resilient walls adapted to receive and clamp a bottle of polishing fluid. In this form of the device, the wire constituting the resilient side walls is bent or twisted downwardly to form supporting tabs 20 adapted to fit over the fingers in the same manner as the device shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, there being auxiliary wires 2| extending across the bottom of the cage and upwardly at the sides or ends of said cage to prevent accidental displacement of the bottle.

If desired, instead of making the finger-supporting tabs a part of the holder, said fingersupporting tabs may be molded or otherwise formed integral with the body of the container, as indicated at 22 in Figure '7 of the drawing.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a very simple and inexpensive device which may be conveniently supported on or suspended from the fingers of either hand and which will not only facilitate the application of polishing liquid to the nails but also prevent spilling of the contents of the bottle should the latter be accidentally upset when placed on a dressing table or other support. It will also be noted that the exterior walls of the holder provide an extended surface for the display of suitable advertising matter. It is to be understood that I do not desire to limit myself to the material employed in the construction of the holder or to the exact shape thereof, the salient feature of the invention residing in the means employed whereby a bottle of polishing fluid or other cosmetic may be supported between and suspended from the fingers of the hand. While the device is particularly adapted for applying polishing fluid to the finger nails, it will, of course, be understood that the holders may be used with equally good results for applying liquid solutions to corns, medicaments to different parts of the hands or body and for various other purposes. It will, furthermore, be understood that the holders may be made in difierent sizes and shapes and of any desired attractive color or provided with any desired surface ornamentation without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A device of the class described comprising a holder adapted to receive a container, and fingerengaging wings extending laterally from the holder and having their outer ends free for suspending said holder from and between adjacent fingers of either hand, said wings serving as rests for engagement with a support to prevent spilling of the contents of the container.

2. A holder for liquid containers comprising a receptacle having its upper end normally open and its side walls at said open end provided with laterally curved wings adapted to rest upon the fingers, the outer ends of the wings being free and projecting longitudinally beyond the adjacent end walls of said receptacle to form end rests.

3. A holder for liquid containers comprising a receptacle having its upper end normally open and its side walls provided with laterally curved finger-engaging wings, there being end wings projecting laterally from the end walls of said receptacle, said end wings and side wings forming rests for engagement with a support to prevent the spilling of the liquid within the container.

,4. A holder for liquid containers comprising a substantially rectangular receptacle having its bottom closed and its top normally open, fingerengaging tabs extending laterally from the side walls of the receptacle whereby the receptacle may be supported between adjacent fingers of the hand, and end tabs extending laterally from the end walls of the receptacle intermediate of the side tabs, said side and end tabs forming rests for engagement with a support to prevent spilling of the contents of the container should the latter be accidentally overturned in either direction.

5. A device of the class described comprising a holder adapted to receive a container and of a size to permit the holder to be supported between the fingers of a hand, and a combined supporting member and prop carried by the holder for suspending the holder from and between adjacent fingers of a hand, said prop by engagement with a supporting surface serving to prevent tilting of the holder beyond a predetermined angle and consequent spilling of the contents of the container when the holder is removed from the fingers and placed upon said supporting surface.

ALICE JEFFERIS. 

